Do Something New

What are the elements that take us away from our craft – that main thing we enjoy performing the most and would prefer spending our days doing?

This question is what led me on my quest to write my new book the Marketing Warrior.

The vision I had in writing this book is really how do we let our best self-shine consistently. All the while insuring that we are inspiring our customers to allow them to know what we are up to in our business on a regular basis.

The many hats that must be worn by small business owners keep us looking for the way to balance money, time and finding joy in each day without allowing the business to swallow us into the never-ending work machine.

Each Monday through the end of the year I am going to share with you a new key element that is at the core of a Marketing Warrior. These elements are essential for creating authentic marketing in order to communicate uniquely with your customers and not be overwhelmed in the process.

In my research and hands on experience with a large variety of small business owners I have had the opportunity to dive deep into what is the missing links in their marketing efforts.

We are going to start at the most foundational element - Creativity. The journey of a Marketing Warrior begins with the unleashing of your creativity. The amazing and unique skill that comes built into every single human being (yes, you included) and the gift we have been given with our imagination.

The ongoing flow of creativity is what separates the individual who is dabbling with social media and occasionally putting out some content with the individual who with a collective team is bound and determined to make a difference.

You would be amazed at how often I host workshops and ask people, “Are you creative?” So many of them tell me no. It’s simply not true! We all have more creativity inside of us then we will probably ever be able to utilize in our lifetime.

More often than not we just don’t let our creativity come out and play. Creativity is a muscle that when left unattended can become out of sync and dormant.

How often do you let your creative self become innovative in your particular craft? How often do you share out loud with your past, present and future customers what is going on in your business? To often we forget that our customers are the ones who benefit the most from the flow of creativity we share.

Sometimes it can be just a small shift that can make the difference and sometimes we might need a complete creative overhaul. Here are 3 exercises to check in with your creativity in the week ahead.

1. Make a creativity statement.Simply sit down and write about what makes you feel the most alive, and then go do it. Perhaps you love to run, maybe it’s the joy of cooking, or gardening, or hanging out with animals. The key is allowing those creative activities to come out and play so that it sparks the flow if creativity inside of you.

2. Push back against the resistanceYou always feel resistance when you first start something new. Resistance shows up when there is doubt coming from your inner critic, who will question you every time you sail into unfamiliar waters.

3. Plan a creative date with yourselfStart at a minimum of once per week – but once a day is even better! These dates are a dedicated time to just let your creativity flow. The more you hang out with your creativity, the stronger the relationship becomes.

A creative date could be a variety of activities: from running on a different route or cooking a dish you’ve never cooked before. Whatever your creative passion is, do a new version of it and let that creative energy come out to play!

This week just focus on creativity. Next Monday we will focus on another new element to take you closer to becoming a Marketing Warrior.